TICEES (9 page)

Korba felt a tremor run through his body at the description of the archaic butchery that the women of her world endured, and he sought to quell her fears. “Chelan, that will never happen to you. Genetically based cancers have been eliminated from our people, but we still encounter various types of environmentally induced carcinomas and some aberrant cell mutations that may occur as we age. Regardless, our technology for dealing with them is the same. What Stose will do with you is what is done with all our people, only he will keep a closer eye on you. I suspect that he will want to test you once a year or more for cancer cells. The first step toward that end will be a simple blood test. We can screen for nearly every type of cancer that way. Then, to make sure that nothing has been missed, he will take the genetic coding of your normal cells and prepare what we call a tagging code. In other words, he will manufacture a chemical using your DNA that is compatible with your normal cells and body chemistry. Every few years, he injects you with this substance, and it travels around your body, ignoring properly coded cells and attaching itself to abnormal ones. Then, with a sophisticated scanner, all the tagged cells show up.”

Korba paused, watching her facial muscles relax and her eyes widen with interest. “If there are abnormal cells, you are injected with a similar tagging chemical, only this time, he will have added a heat-sensitive polymer that incorporates itself directly into the genetic structure of the originally tagged cells, no matter where they are in your body. Then you are given a small dose of a harmless virus, one that will force your body temperature to rise to a critical point that activates the heat-sensitive polymer. The abnormal cells simply self-destruct. The whole process takes maybe a couple of days. But, outside of going to his office for the shots, you’re up and around and doing everything normally throughout the whole procedure.”

He smiled broadly at her. “Chelan, cancer does not kill my people, and it will never hurt you.” He looked down at her as she lay in his lap, her beautiful body exposed to him. His smile turned salacious as his hand smoothed over her soft fullness. “And believe me, no one is going to take these beautiful breasts from you, or from me.”

Chelan twisted away from him, instantly self-conscious of his predatory gaze. But Korba caught her by the arms and pulled her back to him. He kissed her lips gently and hugged her to him. “So, you see,” he whispered, “you have nothing to fear, my Lady. We will take care of you.”

Relief infused her, and she sagged into his steel-hard body, curling up contentedly in his firm embrace. Then he tilted her chin up and looked lovingly into her eyes. “And I have even better news,” he uttered.

He drew her away slightly, his warm eyes coursing over her expectant face. His hand travelled down her silky skin and over her nicely toned abdomen, where it came to rest.

Chelan looked down at his bronze hand, his fingers splayed out over her soft, white flesh. Her hand slipped over his, and their eyes met.

Korba kissed her pink lips, and then he looked down at their hands, their fingers entwined in everlasting love. His voice was saturated with emotion. “Stose says we may have a child whenever we wish.”

Chelan threw her arms around him, and they clung to one another, both processing the implications of Stose’s words. Then Korba lay back and rolled with her, his powerful arms squeezing her to him as if he never wanted to let her go. For the first time in countless years, he truly felt fulfilled.

They lay together for a long time, both of them deep in thought, both of them trying to recover enough to speak. Chelan finally looked up into his eyes and took a breath. “When?”

Korba remained silent for a time as pondered the future and its inherent uncertainty. “Not for a while, Chelan. First I have to find out why we have been summoned home.” He brushed long strands of her silky hair from her face. “My future must be well planned, for I have decided that I will not leave your side while you are pregnant with my child.”

Chelan peered up at him. “That’s ridiculous,” she whispered. “You know Stose would take good care of me.”

“Yes, I know he would. But I do not trust the Breeders. I have caused them too many problems in the past. You could not be out of my direct protection from the time the decision is made, from conception through to the birth. There is no other way.”

Chelan could only shake her head at him. “You worry too much, my Lord,” she affirmed.

“I fear not, Chelan. But, once you are comfortable with Iceanea, and the Emperor has come to know you, then I will request two years of leave.” He lowered his voice and smiled. “And then, at that point, we can begin the whole beautiful process.”

“Two years,” she blurted. “But this is your career. It is your life. You were born and bred to fight. You were—”

Korba placed a firm finger to her lips. “No, Chelan. You are my life, and I want the two years, two Iceanean years. The first will be for us, your pregnancy and the birth, and the second will be for the three of us. After that, I will return to Ticees’ service, my capacity moderated.”

Chelan could only continue to shake her head. But she knew she could not dissuade him from his decision, for no doubt he had thought it out well. But she was unexpectedly assaulted by a flurry of conflicting feelings. She loved him for his obvious devotion, but at the same time she felt a deeply rooted sense of guilt for taking him away from his first love, his career. Suddenly, she hesitated about having his child. She did not want him to come to resent her for the confinement he was bound to experience. Yet she knew how much it would hurt him if she refused.

Korba watched her closely. ”I know what you are thinking. I will not feel trapped by you, my beautiful woman. But I could not go out into the battlefield and survive with my mind still at home in your arms. I would worry constantly for your health, both because of the Breeders and because of the pregnancy itself. I would want to be there should any problems arise, and …” he hesitated as he struggled with unfamiliar emotions, and he drew in a deep breath “… and I could not bear to miss the birth.”

Chelan closed her eyes and lay back down onto his chest. She remained still, comforted by his steady and strong heartbeat.

Slowly he rolled her, placing her gently on her back. He looked into her eyes and slid the sheets off her. He smoothed his open palm over her slim abdomen once again. “I want to watch your body change,” he breathed, “as it swells with the child conceived of our love.”

Chelan placed her hands over his. Korba slumped down and laid his head on her stomach. “You will not be left, Chelan. That is my final decision.” He kissed her soft skin tenderly and then looked down at her shapely thighs. “If time cannot be arranged …” He closed his eyes, his words drifting off.

Chelan wallowed in her tangled thoughts. “There will be time,” she uttered softly. “There has to be.”

Korba’s shoulders tensed, and he pulled himself back up to her. “Yes, there will be, my Lady.” He raised his head and looked beyond her to some distant place, and his eyes frosted. “And if time is not granted,” he whispered coolly, “then it will be taken.”

Chelan did not understand the depth or the true implications of his icy words, as she was too busy toiling with her own emotions.

But Korba’s blood had suddenly run cold at the thought of anyone interfering with his life with Chelan. And abruptly, his war-trained mind, ever wary of all possibilities, sought out Dar. He was the only true threat to Korba, as he was the only man in the Empire capable of challenging him physically with even a remote chance of defeating him.

Even though Korba would never expose Chelan to the actual Letting ceremony, it would be perceived as though they had been Letted to one another, and that always brought with it the possibility of challenge. Korba would defy law to protect Chelan and kill any woman challenging her, and in turn, he would rise to the occasion and meet any challenge directed at him. He doubted that there was anyone foolhardy enough to dare, but there was still Dar, and he was indeed a formidable opponent. Korba now knew just how deep Dar’s feelings for Chelan ran, having innocently revealed recently that Dar engaged several women sexually after Kolls as his way of release. Dar’s subsequent pronouncement that he would pursue a life of abstinence for Chelan left no doubt in Korba’s mind as to the depth of Dar’s possessiveness. The blonde Warlord had rarely turned any woman from his bed, and his list of suitors was far from short. Korba realized that for Dar to even contemplate sacrificing physical pursuits of the flesh for Chelan was a decision of momentous proportions. And of even greater consequence was the fact that such a sacrifice demanded Dar’s withdrawal from the Breeding Guild, a move that would no doubt inflame the Guild to an all-time high. With two Primary Warlords out of the Breeding agenda, Chelan was indeed going to be a priority target for the Breeders, with or without Korba’s seed harbored within her body. It was therefore vividly apparent that Dar had no intention of allowing Chelan to remain exclusively bound to one man. Now it was only a matter of finding out how Chelan felt and if she would ever consider bearing Dar’s child.

Korba shuddered. He was not accustomed to dealing so intimately with a personal situation racked with so many emotional unknowns. And what the whole dilemma came down to was Chelan and her choices. Because of her bond with the Warlord, if she made it clear to Dar that she was interested only in Korba’s child, then it was unlikely Dar would challenge the Let. But Korba knew that with the advancement of time came a flux in feelings and attitudes. What Chelan felt now could easily shift during his long absences from her.

The quandary then became whether to encourage Chelan to develop a close physical relationship with Dar, thereby hopefully cooling the man’s ardor and partially satisfying him, or discouraging such a bond in hopes that Dar would be a loyal and contented friend who, with time, would release his heart’s bond to her. But of course, there was always the possibility that a relationship nurtured between them would only spawn more thoughts within Dar’s head of taking her for his own, thereby increasing the chance of battle.

Korba drew a deep breath, his mind reeling, every fiber in his body balking at the gloomy unknowns. Then his eyes narrowed as he reviewed yet one more scenario, possibly the one idea with the most hope. Maybe he would simply call Dar out, forcing the Warlord to make his intentions known. Korba knew that despite everything, Dar would speak truthfully, and the whole mess could be approached from there.

Korba finally shook his mind free of his morbid thoughts, and he looked down at Chelan, her fingers tracing over his bronze chest, and his blood thawed, his worries evaporating into mist.

She looked up at him, and he smiled. She rolled him to his back and pulled herself over him, lying directly on him, and stared down into his loving eyes. She smiled and then tasted his lips with her sensual tongue.

“You tease,” he whispered, nipping at her.

“No,” she answered seductively. “I entice.”

Korba chuckled and then moaned deeply as his hands ran up and down her velvety sides. “You delay my command,” he told her weakly.

“No,” she whispered. “You may command me at any time.”

Korba smiled broadly. His hands roamed over her buttocks and to her inner thighs. With gentle pressure, he parted her legs over him.

Chelan’s tongue flickered along his neck, and she tantalized him as she began her slow pelvic motions over his abdomen, caressing his body with hers. She looked at him and spoke, her voice an epicurean whisper. “I want you to enter me, and I want you to come inside me. I want you to fill me with your seed.” Chelan immediately blushed at her own boldness, but she continued to watch him. When he did not speak she became anxious. “It is safe. I would not deceive you,” she added hurriedly.

Korba appeared to struggle with the thought, knowing the extreme pleasure such an act would bring, but he reached his decision quickly. “No, Chelan. I won’t.” He saw her disappointment, and she became very still. “It is not that I wouldn’t love to with all my heart and soul. But it’s for your own personal safety.”

Chelan’s eyes betrayed her confusion. “But where else but here, deep within this ship, could it be safer?”

Korba stroked her face, her disappointment not going unshared. “Not all is always what it seems,” he whispered. “I will not jeopardize you now for the sake of passion.”

Chelan laid her head on his chest. “I wanted to experience it with you,” she murmured, her fingers tracing circles on his skin. “I know that the sensations are very different and much more intense when the men of your world allow themselves to ejaculate during orgasm. I want to do it for you.”

“You do so much for me already. Our time will come, and it will be just that much more beautiful.”

Chelan squeezed him tight and smiled, but her heart was gelid. She was already nurturing a deep-rooted contempt for the Breeders and their harassment of her mate. She thoroughly understood the Guild’s agenda, and she agreed with it—it produced flawlessly healthy human beings. Yet she drew the line when it came to Korba. She did not want to even see a Guild member, let alone cooperate with any of their wishes. She would always stand by Korba, and if it ever came to it, she would even go as far as Sabina had, the woman who had once been his one true love.

Korba sensed a subdued hush wash over her, but he was not going to allow her to wallow in any depressing thoughts. Not on this day of their shared happiness with the good news. He raised her lips to his. “Am I still allowed to fulfill the first of your two offers?” he asked heatedly.

Chelan did not answer. She pushed herself down his body, her soft folds meeting his erect thickness. Their lovemaking was slow and gentle as they both savored the time before he resumed his command and reveled in the afterglow of the fact that someday, this would be only the beginning of a coupling of far greater proportions and importance.

Afterward, both showered, and Chelan watched him dress, proud of her mate and his status, and, in a way, happy he was resuming his rightful position. Korba stood up straight, his impressive body fully encased in the ebony uniform, his strong, masculine features exuding an aura of capability and undeniable strength. Chelan watched as he sheathed his blades and donned his shroud; his stance, while radiating calm, projected indisputable authority and a lethal grace that downplayed the ruthless and dangerous being coiled just beneath the surface. He was raw power personified.